Forbes: Wake Forest using 'full-court press' to keep Sarr
New Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes already has a tall task ahead of him: convincing towering French center Olivier Sarr to return to the program for his senior season rather than transferring or turning pro.
"It's full-court press on him," Forbes said on WSJS Sports' "The Drive with Josh Graham" on Tuesday. "He's our No. 1 recruit right now."
Sarr started half his 30 appearances for the Demon Deacons in 2019-20, averaging 13.7 points, nine rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. He entered the transfer portal following the dismissal of former coach Danny Manning last month and indicated he's willing to turn pro if the NCAA doesn't grant him a waiver for immediate eligibility to play in 2020-21.
After positive conversations with the 21-year-old, Forbes said he felt the program has a 50-50 shot at keeping Sarr in Winston-Salem for another year.
"The biggest thing I told him was, 'You're going to play for a new coach no matter what. No matter what,'" Forbes said. "'Do you want to make the risk of playing with new teammates? Because you're not going to have the summer. You're only going to have about six-to-eight weeks to prepare for the season. You've got to work through chemistry.
"'Or are you going to come back to play with teammates who love you, care about you, and going to get you the ball?'"
If the on-court perspective wasn't enough to sway Sarr's decision, Forbes also pitched him on academic considerations - taking a playful knock at one of Sarr's possible transfer destinations in the process.
"I think the most important thing is, 'Why would you go to Wake for three years and put all that time in to get this prestigious degree, and then end up getting your degree at a place like Kentucky.' That's what I said," Forbes added. "That got a chuckle out of him.
"And that's no disrespect to Kentucky because I obviously respect them. You know what I mean; I just think that there's a lot to be said for putting in all that work academically and not being able to finish what you started."